Still in Print

Time for another road trip? Canberra’s National Gallery of Australia (NGA) has something worth the mileage happening this weekend. It’s bringing contemporary print media back to the forefront with a three-day symposium and exhibition.

In a world saturated with online content and digital media it would appear the medium of print has been left by the way side. But it’s not dead – just retreated into a niche. Independent publishing hubs such as The Good Copy – a Melbourne writing studio, shop, school and publisher that aims to provide support for like-minded and print-loving writers – are popping up all over the place. And the art of screen-printing remains a strong contemporary practice.

Over three full days the NGA will host The Known World: The Eighth Australian Print Symposium. Through lectures, workshops and gallery exhibitions, the Symposium will explore some of the varied and inventive strategies employed by contemporary print artists in their bid to stay relevant.

The symposium will feature Australian and New Zealand artists, curators and writers who will give lectures touching on their contemporary printing practice and its evolution in concurrence with digital media.

Included in this line-up is Penny Modra, who will discuss her work with The Good Copy.

Workshops will also be run by artist collectives such as Tooth and Nail, an Adelaide-based initiative with a focus on everything print. It will bring a taste of its independent inner-city warehouse space to the NGA.

Streetwise, an exhibition that explores contemporary Australian print culture is happening in conjunction with the symposium at the NGA’s newest exhibition space in the Queen Elizabeth Terrace on the southern foreshore. Streetwise presents a series of striking digital print and collage works drawn from the NGA’s permanent collection.

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